Puerto Rican teachers learn about Wisconsin environment
August 8, 2006
Six Puerto Rican teachers joined nine Wisconsin teachers for a field-based program on Wisconsin ecosystems and environmental issues in July. The program, sponsored by the Global Environmental Teachings (GET) Program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, covered nine days starting in Milwaukee on July 18.
The teachers explored ecosystems and institutions ranging from Lake Michigan to Horicon Marsh, from a Stora Enso paper mill to northern bogs and lakes and the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. Also on the agenda were environmental education workshops and other classroom-enhancing field experiences.
The Wisconsin educators had traveled to Puerto Rico last summer, joining seven teachers from Puerto Rico. While there, they learned about coral reefs, mangroves, tropical forests, island ecology, sea turtles, and environmental education methods.
The two-year exchange program is designed to increase teachers’ understanding of the hemisphere’s diverse ecosystems and help make connections between Wisconsin ecosystems and those in Puerto Rico. The program will also help teachers infuse international environmental education components into their existing curriculum, and subsequently enhance the education that Wisconsin and Puerto Rican students are receiving.
The Global Environmental Teachings Program connects educators and students worldwide through environmental education. This is the third year of the Wisconsin-Puerto Rico Exchange and the first year of an exchange between South Africa and Wisconsin. Plans call for an exchange with Chinese educators in 2007.
GET is a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Center of Environmental Education and the Global Environmental Management Education Center in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Cooperators in this year’s Wisconsin exchange include the Department of Natural Resources, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Pier Wisconsin. For more information on the Global Environmental Teachings Program and upcoming programs in China, contact Susan Ermer at 715.346.4150 or get@uwsp.edu. Or visit their website at www.uwsp.edu/get.
